Stripped is a performance art show Janet Kuypers live in Chicago. This 06/07/05 show contained a servies of her poems (all political in nature) set to music, with artwork displayed to coincide with her readings, to portray her own artwork as well.
The artwork display in this show is different from her other pieces of art normally displayed for her performance art shows, because on the left of images are the title of the writing the image pertains to, and there is also a larger white space below the title to the left of the image. This is because for a change of pace, Janet Kuypers decided to actually sit directly in the projected image area for her show, This mean that she was really well-lit (by the projector, she even had to wear sunglasses for the show because of the light shining on her), and she was right next to her artwork as it was presented during her show.

Here are all of the poems that were used in her show:

Key To Survival
"the poem of j"

I

Have you ever seen someone
who has a flock of people around them
and that someone is just naturally talking
but people are attracted to them like moths to a flame
people there are like sun tanning high-school girls
facing this person's bright light,
wanting to soak them all in
and hoping they're more beautiful for it

You see these people,
everyone smiling,
circled around this special someone
it's like an animal magnetism
you can't help but
try to nudge in,
to hear their words
to try to get a little of that narcotic for yourself

it's like being a child again,
with a ton of kids in a candy store
where someone's giving out free candy
and all the kids are so thrilled
and they're grinning from ear to ear

You haven't even gotten close enough
to hear their words,
but you're already starting to smile

II

have you ever seen someone
standing at the corner of an intersection
they look dirty and disheveled
and you try to keep your distance
'cause you're guessing they're homeless
and asking for money
but you have to pass them
they're right on the street in your way
so you try to walk
on the farthest edge of the sidewalk
but you watch them with your peripheral vision
and you see them making animated gestures
and you see their face contorting
like they're having a great debate
with no one
like they're giving the speech of their lifetime
to no one

because, you see, no one wants to listen
everyone knows this is a madman raving
so you just try to ignore them
you make a point to not listen
I mean, there's a Hell of a lot of noise
we tune of out of our minds,
cars going by, honking their horns,
the low rumble of other people talking nearby
the shuffle of your footsteps
well, this is another one of those noises.
you don't want to hear them
you had a bad feeling about them
as soon as you saw them
just ignore them
and hopefully they'll go away

III

I knew of a woman
who went on a date
with a male friend of mine,
and after the date
the guy talked about how great she was,
how they talked about their future
and what they both wanted
he talked about the inside of her place,
but after he left messages for her repeatedly,
she never called him back again

saw this woman weeks later
at a Starbuck's
and she said she felt bad
but she never wanted to see him again
because during their date
they never talked about what they wanted
he just talked about what he wanted
like how she wouldn't work
because he even told her how many
of his children she would bear

she wouldn't let him into her home
(does that mean he was looking through her window?)
and she said that after the date
she showered for hours
because she felt mentally raped

poor girl
she saw someone who seemed nice
but it took her only a short while
to know what he was really like

IV

sometimes you look at people
and you just know

sometimes it takes you a little while
but people can't hide their souls forever

everyone gets feelings about someone
whether or not they want to admit it

it's not women's intuition
men feel it too
you feel it in your chest
when you see someone good
and you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach
when you see someone bad

sometimes you look at people
and you just know
and you can try to avoid that feeling you get
and you try to shrug it off as nothing
and you try to run away from the feeling for years
but you can't hide from your soul forever
it'll catch up to you
when you least expect it

sometimes you just know
you've felt it
I've felt it too
we know what to run to
and what to steer clear of

we've got to
it's in our nature
it's a key to happiness
and our key to survival


--

get me out of this cage


you've been trying to censor me
for God knows how long

I don't know, maybe you didn't want to hear my views
because you didn't believe those views should be expressed
but you never knew what I stood for

you never wanted my voice to be heard
because you always thought of me as a possession
and not a person

yeah, I can be a real pain in the ass
to anyone that doesn't want to hear me
but you know what?
people do want to listen
people value the right to speak their minds

and people know that if you take that away from someone
you're taking it away from everyone

so you can try to leave me in this locked cage
you can try to keep me away from everyone else
but you know, I've been clawing at the roof
I can feel the grooves in the ceiling here from my fight
but I still have nails on the tips of my fingers
so I know I can keep clawing,
I know I can keep fighting
because I know I have more work to do
and I'll get it done, I tell you
I'll be free again

your cage isn't air-tight
I've seen light from outside
when you've had me trapped
and every once in a while, I've seen shadows
and I'm sure there are people there

you can't keep me trapped like this forever
because people will hear my screams
through the cracks in your precious cage

and no, I don't care what kind of cage you put me in
cause I'll keep fighting
I'm strong like that, you know

I don't want to hear that you think I go too far
because as much as you try to oppress me
as much as you try to repress me
I'm supposed to have some inalienable rights here

I've heard the way you think
and I know you think I already have too many rights
and I know you're a product of the MTV generation
and I know you're addicted to playing video games
yeah, you'd rather spend you time
interacting with a story on a screen,
with your precious little joystick,
than actually talking to someone

but just because you don't feel like reaching out to people
doesn't mean you can force me into that cage again

I suppose if you don't think
if you don't watch the news
if you don't interact with people,
you think,
why should anyone want to talk to people?

if you want that for yourself, fine
if you don't mind giving up rights
because you have nothing to offer
fine
but the rest of the world doesn't think like you
and we sure the Hell don't want you
ruling over us

since nine eleven, laws have been passed
to legally take our rights away
you know, to make us more safe

fair trade, freedom for perceived safety

but I'd rather fly in the face of danger in this country
I'd rather make it on my own without the likes of you
if it means I might be more free

I'll look over my shoulder
I'll watch out for myself

I'll do whatever I have to
to make sure that the likes of you
can never stop the likes of me

--

What the Hell is She Complaining About


i can't go around telling people
about what you did to me
you see, nobody wants to hear it
and nobody wants to hear a girl whining
what the hell's she complaining about anyway?
but you know, nobody knows
the effects of what you've done
nobody knows that I showered for weeks
no, months
to try to feel clean after you did that to me
nobody knows why i have
violent fits of rage
how I'd hit the wall, rip up the plaster

you want to know what i think of men now?
you want to know their place in my life now?
you see, i didn't know what else to do
so i became the rapist
and now i let men do nice things for me
but i always keep them at a safe distance
i never let them get too close
because i don't care how nice you are
i'll always keep you at arm's length
i learned my lesson

so yeah, you had an effect on me
and i have to bottle it all up
because no one wants to hear the details
i mean, i wasn't physically injured
what the hell could i be complaining about anyway?

but you know, there are times
when i wish you left a mark,
like a bee sting or something,
so people could see a welt
from what you had done

wait, no, i take that back
i'd wish i was stung by a bee
and i was allergic to bees

because then my blood pressure would drop,
my pulse would get rapid,
i'd fall into anaphylactic shock
my skin would turn white
before I got the the hospital
as they tried to keep me alive

all because of a bee sting

while everyone else is thinking,
a bee sting,
what the hell is she complaining about

--

your minions are dying


we seem to have allowed ourselves this fate
we seem to have asked for this
but maybe we didn't know what we were asking for

I
we thought we were doing the right thing
when we chose you
but I suppose that's what all battered housewives say
"he wasn't like this when I met him"
"he's a good man, really"
but it was only after we accepted you
that you asked us to sacrifice
you told us to have faith
like all those preachers who ask you to give
when you'll only be rewarded after you're dead
(if you believe 'em)

you told us we'd be free
if we stayed together as a family
and it was like you placed your hand on a Bible
and asked us to give up more for you

(don't most dictators ask their followers
to sacrifice until they've been sapped dry?)

II
you weren't the only one fighting for me, you know
you had competition
you both tried to woo us over,
even though you two were
more alike than you think
(who am I kidding,
you two were just like everyone else)

you two were two sides of the same coin
yeah, yeah, you may have been opposite sides
but you were the same damn coin

you all wanted us to trust you
and even though we were harmless
you still pulled out all of your weaponry
to keep us in line
when we weren't looking,
all while saying
it was for our own good

with you two, my choice
was to either
jump in and drown in someone's abuse
or be dragged in by the other
for the same fate

III
you can keep throwing your generalities at us
and expect us to eat it up
like hungry animals
waiting for your handouts

but if we were hungry animals,
we'd take what you gave us,
then kill you and eat your remains

but we're not animals
so stop treating us like fools

IV
yeah, you had competition
but no one could save us from your fate,
you all were just so much alike
that we only had to choose the lesser of two evils

but did we make the right choice?

V
you keep saying you'll make me feel safe
but all I can think of
is that dictators
historically played on fear
to make their minions
feel like they need their leader
well, you don't make me feel more safe
you make me feel more scared
and I wonder if I can take care of myself
and I never needed any of you anyway

VI
others have come along
and tried to save me from the likes of you
but they never told me how I could be free
I never knew how I was going to be rescued

when I was little
I played office with my friend Sheri
we had a little board painted white
with little toggle switches stuck on it
and buttons and dials on it
it probably had the ear piece of a phone on it too
and we had this little control panel,
this little console
sitting on our little desk
and we'd sit there with it
and press a lot of buttons
and we'd flip the toggle switches up and down
and act like we were receiving important calls
and it looked like we were doing something
it looked like we were accomplishing things

and all you men, you all say you have a plan
but I haven't seen it
I haven't seen how you can
save me from the madness

you men are trying to flip those damn toggle switches
and you don't know what the Hell they do
but you'll act like you know,
and you'll act like you're accomplishing something

are we supposed to blindly accept
whatever the likes of you hand out to us?

VII
you try to act like you can save us
but there are people dying over here,
we're jobless, homeless, dying

we're drowning in this ocean of helplessness
and we'll grab on to whatever line
we can get a hold of

is that why we counted on you

but your minions won't be stong enough
to support you fore

--

We Listened


yeah, we listened to MTV
and we listened to the rap stars
they told us to get out there
and let our voices be heard
well, we did what you said
because the wool has been
pulled over our eyes
for far too long
and no one has been held accountable

but yeah, we listened talk radio
where people are stuck in their cars
every day on their commute
home from work
where people could call in and agree
with whatever was spouting out at them
over the radio waves

where's the gratification
when you can't talk to rap stars
or have your voice heard on MTV
and you can't be broadcasted on the radio
where everyone stroke your ego
and agrees with you completely

yeah, we've tried to listen
but we've been bombarded with
war images in the tee vee
and you know, congress
hasn't declared a war
since world war two
but we can still blow people up,
can't we?
cause our view is getting clouded
because now we can see for ourselves
that war is so gory,
that war is bad
and we've got those images in our heads
and we hear quote unquote news
from every source under the sun
some reliable, some not
i mean, we've got cable news,
we've got the internet
and you know, some of the
reputable news sources
even give us slanted information
who are we to trust now?

well, we listened
but most of us mustn't have known
what we were listening to
when you idolize a rock star
and they tell you what to do
wouldn't you just follow?
and when you get your voice on the radio
to talk someone you've grown to idolize
and you're busy
stroking each others egos
wouldn't you do whatever they said?
yeah, most us didn't know
how to decipher the jargon
thrown at us
but we soaked it all in anyway
and spit it out as our new mantra

maybe we all just followed blindly
after listening to one side of the story
over and over again
without getting all the facts
it was like we were told
to jump in a pool, that we'd like it
and we all just ran to the pool and jumped
without looking to see if
there was any water in the pool

but looking back, after we've chosen
we've got a more ethnically mixed leadership,
but we're ignoring some of our problems
to help others
people pull some of our rights away
to help us somewhere else

but you know, i'm trying to remember
what ben franklin said
that people who give up essential liberty
to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither

so i guess,
thanks to our choices,
people are taking some of our
essential liberties
and do we feel
temporarily
more safe?
And does that mean that we deserve either?
because i can tell you,
i don't feel more safe
and i sure the hell don't feel more free
and i see that pool up ahead
that everyone's just rushing to
but i can't see any water in there
and i'm trying to stop
this mob rush
as everyone is jumping in without looking

the way jews were forced in mass
to run
and they'd see they were running
to the edge of a cliff
but the ss was behind them
and they had to keep running

and the ss'd shoot them as they were
about to run over the edge
so they'd fall to their deaths

i see this, i see the mass grave
in the bottom of that swimming pool
and we listen to our leaders
as they tell us to jump in

--



marry me... whatever you are


I have gay friends who considered leaving this country
because George Bush was re-elected

hits to Canada's web sites for immigration skyrocketed
after the election results came in

and I thought, hey, a president may have some problems,
but that's no reason to desert your home

but they were sure after this election that
same-sex partner rights would never be granted to them

I mean, when one person is ill and in the hospital
the other has no rights to be there for them

and I thought, if Bush was trying to appeal to a vast majority
of people, he'd be good for everyone, right?

I even heard Bush say that rights should be given to
same-sex partners, even if they don't call it â??marriageâ??

and I thought, well, it might sound rude, buy he's gotta
respect the red-neck back-ass country folk in this country too

and they only believe in man and woman marriages
while screwing the animals at the farm

but at least he was going to give same-sex couples rights,
that's a good sign, isn't it?

but then I heard that Republicans want to make a
constitutional amendment defining marriage

they wanted to define something that is not the
governemtn's business

(then again, they make enough laws now that overstep
the bounds of any rational government already)

Then fourteen states made laws defining marriage
as only between a man and a woman

okay, I'm beginning to see why some of my friends
are worried



--

Outsourcing the American Dream


we've been doing pretty well over the years
and I've seen you strutting around
showing off all your peacock feathers
feeling like you're the big man on campus

and you know, it had to feel pretty good
I know what it was like, I'd hold parties
& I'd change from one fancy dress to another
& I'd be the center of attention

I remember my novel release party, my
sister came, and I know she likes Red Rose
wine, and I was standing in the kitchen
chatting it up when I saw her approaching

so I turned to the fridge to get the wine
and as soon as she got to me I tilted the bottle
toward her glass and just started pouring
& she said, hey, I was coming to get some

wine & I said I know, and I just kept grinning
& talking to others & having a splendid time

yeah, I know the feeling, like you own
the world, you'd be dressed up wearing a
red robe & a hat & it looked like you should
be saying "where are all of my bitches?"

or when you'd take your black convertible
out, top down, as you'd be dressed in your
fancy suit, ready to hold open your
car door, just like you'd hope the man

who owns the world would. You'd show up
to parties in the tuxedo you own, you'd
give flowers to a girl you were smitten with
just after you've met her to woo her

you'd go jet-setting throughout Europe, visiting
China — you're the one on top, aren't you?

well, you always have been, you're the man
with the plan, you're the one who lives life
to the fullest, you show the world how
arrogant you are with your past successes

but Houston, there's a problem, you
might not want to believe it, but since
we've been resting on your laurels all this
time, since our fat uncles have been

sitting on the couch, burping with their
cans of beer, watching the football games
while someone else has been doing all the
cooking and cleaning for them, well,

while we've all been feeling cocky,
thinking about how great we are,
other countries have been training their
students in our schools, and because

we've been busy basking in our glory
we've outsourced all the work we're too
lazy to do & we've trained everyone else
to beat us at our own game

(oh, I forgot to mention, we were so busy
celebrating our military and business
accomplishments that we gave up
on training ourselves to stay ahead)

well, while we've gotten lazy and taken a
break for a while, everyone else has started
excelling past us, so we buy our Japanese
technology and drive our German cars,

drink our French water when we're not
drinking our French wine, and we get
as far away from the United States as we
possibly can when we want to take a

vacation

well, I'm waiting for someone to realize it,
maybe having the economy fall out from
underneath our overzealous desire to
get rich quick didn't allow us to see

but we've always been the giant, we were
first to fly an airplane, the first to land
on the moon, we're in front in the world
with medicines and health care

hmmm, speaking of healthcare, most people
can't afford it now, because we've researched
the Hell out of the diseases we choose
to kill ourselves with, I mean, stats say

us North Americans have the highest rates
of cancer verses the world, our kids are
fat, we work so many more hours but still
can't keep ahead, and at this point we

can't afford the fruits of our labor any longer

do we bring it upon ourselves when we
want to get rich quick by suing doctors,
forcing them to charge higher prices,
driving up the cost for everyone?

we complain that people who are on welfare
still on average own two television sets
and every teen in America now seems to
expect their own free cell phone

is it that our standard of living has risen
so dramatically that everyone now expects
everything handed to them on a silver
platter? do we ask for more without

working for more?

teens complain about not getting a job out
of school, while their guidance counselors
tell them they might have a chance if
they get rid of the excessive body piercings

or not wear a mohawk or color their hair
pink or stain their skin with tattoos
& that's when the teens complain that
they don't want to work for a place

that can't accept them for who they are

our President wants to protect our borders
from terrorists, but he wants to give
temporary work visas to illegal Mexican
immigrants, so that other nations can do

our work for us

and we wonder why we're unemployed

we get rid of excess building & manufacturing
metals, which we think would cost
too much to melt down to reuse, & our excesses
go to China, where they build high rises

from our scraps

yeah, we can talk about how we were the
high school quarterback, & how we
scored so many touchdowns & everyone
loved us back then

while we credit card ourselves into debt
because we deserve the good things in life,
as we train other people to help us
lose more in the world economy

pretty soon prices will keep going up
& we won't be able to afford that convertible,
or the nice clothes, or for that matter,
any of the niceties anymore

& we'll become a people who have the
basics, but not much else, & we'll wonder
how we've become a third world country
& never saw it coming

because we're on a mountainside, slipping
into the canyon hole but instead
of enjoying the roller-coaster ride before
we crash & burn, can we stop it?

can we stop asking our government to tie
our shoelaces for us, because you know,
man didn't land on the moon because we didn't
work for it, so can we start to live off of

what we can afford, so we can look ahead
to what we can accomplish?


This movie is part of the collection: Community Video

Producer: Janet Kuypers
Keywords: stripped; poetry; performance; art; show; janet; kuypers; chicago; live; reading; artwork

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